


Childhood Lost

by SapphicScavenger



Category: Book of Life (2014), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Genre: Angst, CSA, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Punishment, Sexual Abuse, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 12:24:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18778243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphicScavenger/pseuds/SapphicScavenger
Summary: Etapalli is a normal young goddess living her life. But what happens when her older brother's friend (and her crush) invites her on a walk to the garden?





	Childhood Lost

**Author's Note:**

> This is transferred from tumblr. You can find all these users and their characters on Tumblr along with the original work.
> 
> A/N: So this oneshot deals with a lot of stuff like rape and child abuse so if you don’t like that stuff don’t read it and a HUGE thank you to all the creators of the kids for letting me use them in cameos
> 
> ~Miguel, Mila and Cider belong to thelovelydeer 
> 
> ~Esteban and Adeleine belongs to hansuoddie
> 
> ~Xico belongs to blackmel1
> 
> ~Alazne belongs to queenxivory
> 
> ~Etapalli, Itzli, and Katalina belong to me
> 
> ~Itzlacol belongs to @ladyanaconda
> 
> ~Sure belongs to just-skulls-and-spices
> 
> ~Jack belongs to Disney
> 
> ~All other characters belong to Jorge Gutierrez and REEL FX Studios

It was Alazne who first noticed something wrong with her sister. Ever since the creator’s ball in the land of the blessed, Etapalli seemed off. She would stare off into space as if she was dissociating, she would hardly eat, she took long baths and bathed multiple times a day, she would wake up sobbing in the middle of the night thinking nobody could hear her. But Ala heard, and Ala saw. Soon the other siblings started to notice something was wrong. Esteban would tell Etapalli jokes trying to make her laugh to no avail. She’d always laugh before. Miguel would invite her to sword practice, but she’d refuse. She’d begged to go before. When Jack visited he brought her some sweets from Halloweentown but she pushed them side. She’d always liked sweets before. Sartana was the first who tried to get it out of her, gently at first but becoming more forceful with invasive questions until the young girl started having a fit and their parents had to interfere.

“Please, Mija. Tell me what happened.” Xibalba begged of his daughter. Etapalli stayed silent, her eyes dull and her form stiff. “You used to be so lively and happy. What’s wrong?” Though her heart was aching and she wanted to tell him, she wouldn’t talk. Fear of her banishment filled her and she felt like she was made of stone. “Mijita-” He protested when she stood up and walked out of the study. But he didn’t stop her.

“Please try to eat something.” Cider begged his sister. “You’re growing so thin. You passed out in the middle of breakfast this morning.” Etapalli turned from her brother. She uttered but one word.

“Leave.” So he did.

It was La Muerte who was able to coax it out of her. The mother goddess took her suffering child into her room and sat her down on the bed next to her. “I love you, Pallita. No matter what you do nothing will change that. You can tell me anything. I promise I won’t be angry with you. You have many siblings, but I love all of you the same and I would do the same thing I do now for any of them. Now you have my full attention, my full support, todo mi corazon.” She tucked a lock of black hair behind the ear of her daughter. Etapalli’s acid green eyes filled with tears as her fangs dug into her lip, causing it to bleed. While trying to fight back the wave of emotions, she explained to her mother.

How she’d followed Itzli to the garden with the promise of a garden of birds waiting for her. How her heart had beat like a drum in her chest, looking up at the much older boy as he held her hand. How he’d given her a small pastry and she’d eaten it greedily and innocently, not knowing what would happen to her. How when they’d gotten to the promised location, there was nothing but trees. How she felt her body become weak and she fell to the ground, her wings feeling as if they were tied together by an invisible chain. How she’d tried to cry out for help only to be hit in the face by Itzli. How he’d grabbed her roughly and torn her dress away, the handmade dress she had been so lovingly gifted by her mother for her birthday. How he’d defiled her while she laid there paralyzed in silence, being innocent and not even knowing what he was doing to her but hating every second of it and wishing she was able to die. How he’d spread his seed all over her stomach and legs before standing up. How he pulled her to her feet and told her; “Don’t tell anybody or they will hate you more than they do already. They will strip you of your powers and banish you to the world of humans and send monsters to kill you. When you die you’ll be sent to a place worse than the land of the cursed because nobody wants a whore like you”.

La Muerte’s heart had filled with pain and rage and her eyes with tears as she and her daughter embraced one another, crying and hurting. She held her tight and rubbed her back, trying to keep those negative emotions hidden away for the sake of her broken child. Etapalli’s physical wounds from her encounter had mostly healed soon after they’d been inflicted, but the emotional wounds still remained and were sore with infection. They held one another for over two hours, weeping and hugging. There was much work to be done, but the land of the remembered could wait for eternity.

The news spread around the castle like wildfire. First from La Muerte to Xibalba, who she had to restrain to keep him from flying to the land of the blessed and taking care of Itzli himself. Sartana had overheard and confided in the older children, who were eavesdropped on by the younger children who knew with heavy hearts what this meant. The youngest children, like Suré and Xico, had no clue what the word “rape” meant. But from the way it seemed to affect everybody, they knew it was something terrible. But the attention seemed to focus on their older sister, who was treated as if she was a fragile flower, a delicate piece of glass that could break at any time. It angered many of the children, and extra precautions had to be taken to assure that none of Etapalli’s relatives would go after Itzli before his trial. Adeleine had cried uncontrollably when she found out, knowing she was the only one who could have seen this coming, yet she didn’t. Mila was angrier than a hornet and had to be held back by Miguel. When the news had reached Jack he broke down and had to take a few days off work. The children really tried their hardest to comfort their sister. But Etapalli just wanted to be left alone.

On the day of the trial, she was shaking at the thought of having the face Itzli again. She stood at the podium in front of the pantheon, gods from all corners of the world. The creator the judge of it all staring down at her with a sympathetic gaze. She spoke shakily, her English blending into Spanish which blended into Nahuatl. Itzli and his father stared at her with hatred in their eyes while she tried not to cry. Her words slurred together as the world spun around her and she felt like fainting, The Creator stopped her, saying she’d said enough and she was excused. Xibalba took her outside to cool off, bringing her a glass of water. She drank it and for the first time in weeks, let him hold her.

It only took a quick search in the book of life to confirm what she said was true. Itzli was punished and banished to the deepest depths of the land of the cursed. Itzlacol, his father, swore revenge on Etapalli and her family before disappearing mysteriously, never to be seen by them again.

Now, seven years later, Etapalli laid in bed next to her lover and wondered if those emotional wounds had finally healed. It had taken her a while to find someone who didn’t want to use her as a plaything. But she still couldn’t help but wonder if she was a plaything as she took in the scent of gunpowder, wildflowers and cinnamon from the luscious mane of brown hair that laid next to her. Katalina stirred in her sleep and rolled to face the winged goddess. Her plump lips were parted in a slight pout as she slept and soft snores came from her. Etapalli shifted her arm only to have her hand instinctively grabbed by the young woman next to her. Their fingers intertwined gracefully and the goddess left out a soft sigh of relief, knowing she was loved and not being used as a plaything. She kissed the human soldier on the forehead before snuggling closer to her and lazily draping a black wing over their naked bodies, shielding them from the outside world. The dark black eyes of the soldier opened. Her mouth curved into a smile. “I enjoy waking up more when I get to wake to a lovely view such as this.” She flirted, still half asleep. The goddess blushed.

“You’re a dork.” She accused. Katalina chuckled and gave her lover a soft kiss on the lips, which Etapalli gratefully returned.

“Are you okay? Your heart beats fast.” The soldier gazed into the goddess’s green eyes with those devoted dark eyes one could get lost in like a cave.

“I’m okay now, seeing how heaven has brought an angel to my side.” The goddess cupped her human’s face. The human chuckled.

“Says the actual angel.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her close. “But seriously, was it too much? Did you want me to stop? I would have stopped if you’d asked me.” Etapalli fought back the urge to cry tears of joy.

“Not for an instant.” She kissed her before starting to slip into a deep sleep. Those emotional wounds had finally started to heal.


End file.
